DIGITAL EDITION

Carrying a Big Stick

(October 2012) posted on Tue Nov 13, 2012

Ferrari Color comes to the rescue when the 'World's Largest Lollipop' needs the world's largest wrapper.

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From Popsicles to shish kababs, it seems there’s no denying that food tastes better on a stick. But perhaps no other fare rivals the delicious yet simple treat that is the lollipop. For the last 80 years, See’s Candies, which originated in Los Angeles and now sells its famous homemade chocolates in more than 200 stores around the world, has been cooking up gourmet lollipops in flavors like chocolate, vanilla, café latte, and more. So popular are the classic treats that See’s sells more than a million pounds of its gourmet lollipops every year.

In celebration of this year’s National Lollipop Day (July 20), See’s Candies set a lofty goal: earning the title of “World’s Largest Lollipop” from the Guinness Book of World Records. While See’s would have no problem creating the 7000-pound chocolate sucker, the candy shop did need help in producing its famous gold wrapper in a large-enough size to cover the tasty treat.

Salt Lake City’s Ferrari Color (www.ferraricolor.com) signed on to help create the world’s largest wrapper for this larger-than-life confectionary. See’s Candy provided the shop with its logo: “It didn’t require much in the way of color adjustment since it was a standard logo graphic on a not-so-standard end-use-product,” says Heidi Hall, marketing director for Ferrari Color. “The project also didn’t require proofing.”

Using its Mimaki JV5 dye-sub fabric printer, Ferrari output the wrapper onto 110-square feet of Dazian Trapeze gold polyester fabric. “The dye-sublimation fabric printing technique made for a dark, rich black logo, which highlighted the gold sheen given off by the fabric,” says Judith Ragland of Ferrari Color’s creative projects engineering team. “We wanted to have the fabric emulate the actual wrappers that are used for See’s lollipops.” Then, using a sewing machine, the shop hemmed the edges of the fabric and added Velcro for the wrap closure.

“The biggest challenge was making sure the wrap would fit on the actual pop. So, using the dimensions See’s Candies gave us, our production team made a mockup lollipop out of cardboard and PVC,” says Hall. “This allowed us to ensure the wrapper would work as requested.”

With the covering made to size, Ferrari shipped it to See’s Candies’ corporate headquarters in South San Francisco, where the company wrapped the giant lollipop, placed it on a semi truck, and delivered it to the city’s Justin Herman Plaza for the grand unveiling. After its debut in the plaza, the 16-foot, 7-inch lollipop was showcased at San Francisco’s AT&T Park during a Giants baseball game. By the way, although it was made with the same ingredients as all of See’s lollipops, this one wasn’t eaten – instead, it was recycled.